Portland Pilots (7-4, 0-0 WCC) at Oregon Ducks (5-5, 0-2 Big 10)
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Place: Eugene, Ore.
Arena: Matthew Knight Arena
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: PortlandPilots.com
Live Coverage Links:  Audio | Stats

COMING UP
• The Pilots (7-4) visit the Oregon Ducks (5-5) on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 8 p.m.
• Portland will then conclude non-conference action at UC Santa Barbara (8-3) on Monday, Dec. 22 at 2 p.m.

GAME COVERAGE
• Wednesday's game will be televised nationally on the Big Ten Network with A.J. Kanell and Don MacLean on the call.
• Portland's radio broadcast will be streamed live on PortlandPilots.com with Jason Swygard calling the action. Pre-game coverage begins 20 minutes prior to tip-off and ends with a 15-minute post-game show.
• Live coverage links for Portland games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.

LAST TIME OUT: Pilots 88, Kent State 78 (Dec. 14, 2025 — Portland, Ore.)
• Freshman PG Joel Foxwell tied the Portland single game record with 15 assists and Cameron Williams added 20 points as the Pilots snapped Kent State's nine-game winning streak, 88-78.
• Foxwell recorded a double-double with 11 points as well, while three other Pilots reached double figures.
• Kent State used a 12-3 run sparked to go up 32-22, but the Pilots responded by closing the half with a 17-4 run to take a 39-36 advantage into the break. Mikah Ballew buried three triples and had 11 first-half points to pace Portland.
• There were six ties and four lead changes throughout the second half before the Pilots took control with an 8-0 run capped by a Garrett Nuckolls layup to go up 72-67 and never let KSU back into the game. Timo George's fast break layup made it 85-74 with less than a minute remaining as Portland coasted to victory.
• The Pilots dominated the paint with a 48-36 scoring edge, pushed the tempo for 22 fast-break points and turned Kent State's 16 turnovers into 19 points. Portland had 27 assists on 33 made field goals while shooting 52 percent from the field.
• The Golden Flashes entered the contest No. 1 nationally in points per game (98.5) but were held to their second lowest scoring output of the season.

FOXWELL EARNS MORE WCC WEEKLY HONORS
• Freshman PG Joel Foxwell picked up his third WCC Freshman of the Week award on Monday after his 11-point, 15-assist effort in the win over Kent State. The 15 assists matched the program record established by fellow Aussie Tyler Robertson in a Dec. 10, 2022 home win against New Orleans. It is also tied for third most in a game this year nationally.
• The Melbourne, Australia native now has two double-doubles on the season, while he has dished out 10 or more assists four times, including each of the last two games. He is the WCC leader in assists per game (7.0), which also ranks seventh nationally and No. 1 among all freshmen.
• This is the 13th time a Portland player has garnered the WCC Freshman of the Week award over the last three seasons, which is nearly one out of every three opportunities and five more then the next closest institution.

WILLIAMS DOING WORK
• Junior F Cameron Williams recorded his third 20-point game of the season in Sunday's win against Kent State.
• Williams, a first team JC All-American and national champion with Trinity Valley JC last season, has adjusted well to the Division I level. He is shooting 59 percent from the field and 82 percent at the foul line and grabbing 4.8 rebounds per game.

O'DONNELL OBLITERATES CAREER HIGH
• Sophomore F James O'Donnell more than doubled his previous career high with 32 points in the win against Lewis & Clark on Dec. 5. His prior high was 15 points.
• O'Donnell also collected his first double-double with 10 rebounds in the contest.
• The transfer from San Francisco is now averaging 11.5 points and a team best 5.9 rebounds per game. He is shooting 65.4 percent from the field.

BALLEW IS BALLIN
• Sophomore G Mikah Ballew moved into the starting lineup for the last four games is averaging 12.1 points this season, including eight double figure games. Ballew's 21 three-pointers made are tops on the roster.
• He scored a career high 20 points in the opener vs. Willamette, added 15 points against Arkansas Pine Bluff and made clutch plays late in a narrow 67-63 win against UC Davis.
• He was a key contributor last season off the bench for Portland and the most experienced Pilot returner in terms of minutes played and scoring.

FRESHMAN PHENOMS
• In addition to Foxwell, freshman F Timo George has been a consistent force for the Pilots. He is the team's top scorer (13.3) and leads the WCC and ranks sixth nationally in field goal percentage (.705). His 5.2 rebounds per game are also second among WCC freshmen and second on the team. He has reached double figures in 9 of 11 games despite playing just 20.3 minutes per game.
• Guard Dante Censori-Hercules has been a defensive stopper off the bench and appeared in eight of nine games.

ABOUT THE RETURNERS
• Portland returns six players from last year's roster, three of which redshirted.
• Mikah Ballew averaged 4.9 points as a freshman in 31 games. Senior C Jermaine Ballisager Webb started eight games, appeared in 29 and averaged 4.3 points and 1.8 rebounds while shooting 64 percent from the field.
• RS-sophomore G Kelson Gebbers played 19 games and averaged 1.7 points and 1.1 rebounds.
• Carlin Briggs, NaVaughn Long and Preston Lee each utilized their redshirt season. Briggs is returning from a knee injury and working his way back into playing shape. Long made his debut against Willamette and recorded two rebounds with a pair of assists. Lee also debuted against the Bearcats and scored five points with a steal.

BUILDING A WINNING ROSTER
• The Portland coaching staff focused on building the 2025-26 roster with experienced players from winning programs and Portland's five transfers fit the bill.
• Junior transfers Garrett Nuckolls and Cameron Williams were the top two scorers for Trinity Valley JC, which won the JUCO Division I national title last year.
• Riley Parker was a starter and team captain for St. Francis, which won the Northeast Conference Tournament to reach the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
• Senior F Matúš Hronský spent three years with Duquesne and played in two NCAA Tournament games in 2024, while sophomore C James O'Donnell was a key contributor for San Francisco, who won 25 games and played in the NIT.
• Additionally, Portland's three true freshmen all played for high level clubs or have national team experience: Timo George prepped at IMG Academy in Florida, Joel Foxwell played with pros in the Australian NBL and NBL1, while Dante Censori-Hercules competed at Hodan Prep, which has multiple alums playing in the NBA.

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
• Portland's current roster features players from seven different countries including nine international student-athletes.
• The Australian pipeline continues to flow with four Pilots hailing from Down Under: Riley Parker, James O'Donnell, Carlin Briggs and Joel Foxwell.
• Throughout his five-year tenure with the Pilots, Legans has had nine different Aussies on the roster and 21 total international players from 12 different countries.

STAFF UPDATE
• Portland added two new assistant coaches to staff this offseason in Mark Berokoff and Anthony Separovich, while Decclan Mclean was promoted to an assistant coach after serving two years as a graduate assistant.
• Berokoff brings vast experience to the bench with more than 400 career wins along with multiple state and national championships as a head coach. Berokoff most recently served four seasons as head coach at NAIA Oklahoma City University.  He led Randall University to three national titles and five national semifinals appearances in nine years (2012-21) at the National Christian College Athletic Association Division II level while serving as both head coach and athletic director.
• Separovich and Mclean are Australians that have helped solidified a strong pipeline for the Pilots Down Under. Separovich served as the AUSA Hoops Program and Recruiting Director from 2022-25. He was instrumental in recruiting, mentoring and guiding boys and girls players from Australia to earn college scholarships in the U.S. More than 500 student-athletes represented AUSA in AAU Tournaments across the U.S. in 2025. He helped place more than 100 student-athletes at U.S. colleges over the past three years, including a record 50 in 2024.

NATIONAL TEAM DUTY
• Four different players have been regular representatives on their home country's national teams either at the youth or senior level.
• Jermaine Ballisager Webb (Denmark) played on youth national teams from U15 on and represented the Senior National Team this Summer at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers. He averaged 10.8 points and 4.8 rebounds over four games as Denmark secured a qualifying spot.
• Timo George (Netherlands) helped the Netherlands U20 National Team to a fourth-place finish at the 2024 FIBA EuroBasket where he averaged 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He also represented the Netherlands at the U18 European Championships in 2023.
• Matúš Hronský (Slovakia) represented Slovakia at the 2021 U20 European Championships where he averaged 15.8 points in five games. Hronský also played for Slovakia's Senior National Team at the 2021 World Cup where he scored eight points in four games.
• Dante Censori-Hercules (Canada) also trained this Summer with the U-19 National Team.

ABOUT OREGON
• The Ducks (5-5, 0-2 Big 10) snapped a five-game losing streak with a convincing 104-62 home win against UC Davis on Saturday. Oregon has notable wins over Hawaii and Oregon State and losses to Auburn, SDSU, Creighton, USC and UCLA.
• Jackson Shelstad leads four Ducks averaging double figures at 16.7 per game.
• Head coach Dana Altman is in his 16th season at the helm and has led the Ducks to nine NCAA Tournament appearance including the 2017 Final Four.

PORTLAND-OREGON SERIES HISTORY
Series: Oregon leads 53-10
H / A / N:  9-25 / 1-28 / 0-0
Streak: Oregon W4
Last 10 / 5: 2-8 / 1-4
Last: Ducks 80, Pilots 70 - Overtime (Nov. 12, 2024 at UO)

WE'RE RIVERBOAT PILOTS, NOT AIRPLANE PILOTS!
• Though a 1935 student contest resulted in the nickname "Chinooks" (after the Native American tribe that inhabited the area, and the largest of the salmon species in the Willamette River), the "Pilots" was chosen by presidential fiat. From that day forward, The Bluff had a new mascot, and he was Wally Pilot.
• When the University changed its name from Columbia University (its earliest sports teams were known as the Cliff dwellers or the Columbias), to the University of Portland in 1935, the name and University had already begun to adapt a more "nautical motif," suitable for a campus site overlooking the Willamette River. At the same time, the Pilot athletic teams became associated with Wally (a stylized riverboat pilot), and the pilot's wheel became the logical logo.
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